CLEVELAND, March 27, 2025 — ECNETNews reports that affiliates of Peppertree Capital Management, Inc. have secured a unanimous arbitration award exceeding $354 million against Terra Towers Corp., DT Holdings, and businessman Jorge Hernandez. This significant ruling also includes $25 million in punitive damages and covers Peppertree’s legal fees and related expenses.
The arbitration tribunal determined that the Respondents were liable for violating company agreements, disrupting business operations, and engaging in detrimental actions affecting Continental Towers LATAM Holdings Limited, a telecommunications entity active in Latin America.
Back in 2014-2015, Peppertree made a substantial investment in the Company and entered into a Shareholders Agreement with Terra. According to this Agreement, an initial lock-up period of five years was established, after which any party could initiate a sale process for the Company. In 2020, following the provisions of the Agreement, Peppertree attempted to initiate this sale; however, Terra breached the Agreement by refusing to proceed with the sale.
In 2021, Peppertree initiated arbitration in New York to address these breaches, targeting Terra and its affiliates, including Mr. Hernandez. The Arbitration Tribunal issued a ruling firmly in favor of Peppertree, mandating the sale of the Company in accordance with their Agreement. This ruling was subsequently confirmed by Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York and upheld by a unanimous appellate panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Throughout 2024, multiple hearing sessions were held to assess the damages that Terra and Mr. Hernandez would owe. Interestingly, just one week prior to these hearings, Terra and Mr. Hernandez engaged their tenth legal representation since the onset of the arbitration, following the withdrawal of their previous nine law firms. During this arbitration, it is also important to note that Mr. Hernandez’s companies faced litigation with a publicly-held U.S. tower company and two major international private tower companies.
On March 24, 2025, the Tribunal delivered a comprehensive 200-page award, marking the fifth ruling in this prolonged arbitration saga. The Tribunal concluded that the Respondents failed to adhere to the stipulated process for selling the Company, continually breaching the governing documents while actively obstructing the sale, which culminated in the substantial award of over $354 million.
About Peppertree: Peppertree Capital Management, Inc. is a leading private equity firm dedicated to investing in growing communication infrastructure companies. Established in 2004, Peppertree manages over $6.5 billion and has made more than 170 investments in the communication infrastructure sector.
